Best bets: The Hillside is alive with the sounds of music
Jun. 30—Again ...
Low's new single, "Days Like These," opens with unaccompanied Alan Sparhawk singing "When you think you've seen everything ...", then brings in Mimi Parker's gorgeous harmonies. The song is part pulpit, heavy on fuzzy accents, and then segues into breezy, spacey bloops and then quiet whispers — then the song's punchline — It's not just "days like these," it's "days like these ... again." Low is scheduled to release its album "Hey What" in mid-September and will tour in 2022.
Did you say Duluth?
On the Wondery podcast "Even the Rich," hosts Brooke Siffrinn and Aricia Skidmore-Williams talk about The Famous People — and, in a certain February episode, drop a Duluth reference.
In the middle of a multi-episode dive into the Kardashians, the hosts considered Kim's Kris Humphries era. For the uninitiated, the Hopkins, Minn.-raised, University of Minnesota graduate who went on to play in the NBA was married to Kim Kardashian for 72 days in 2011. When Siffrinn notes that Humphries wanted the couple to move to his home state, Skidmore-Williams quips, "This isn't 'Keeping up with the Kardashians of Duluth.'"
Tippin' and rippin'
The Central Hillside will again ring with the sweet, sweet sounds of music. The concert season kicks off with Bayfront Country Jam and headliner Aaron Tippin — an artist with a lotta years in the biz. Tippin's hits include "You've Got To Stand for Something," "I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way," "Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly." Also on the bill: Thompson Square, Jake Rose and local favorites Whiskey Trail. Bayfront Country Jam is at 4:30 p.m. July 2 at Bayfront Festival Park.
Hair, fire, leather
Hairball, a band that recreates all the theatrical pageantry of the arena hairband shows of yesteryear, returns to Bayfront for its annual Fourth of July eve concert. Expect sprays of fire, leather, flexed tresses and sounds that you thought only Bon Scott could make with his mouth. The band with Minnesota roots has in the past channeled AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Ozzy, Def Leppard, Journey, Twisted Sister and more. Will there be a live snake? You never know. Hairball plays at 6 p.m. July 3 at Bayfront Festival Park. Tickets available at Ticketmaster outlets.
Spacious skies
And if the pyrotechnics of Hairball aren't enough: Fourth Fest will kick things up to the nth degree. The gates open at 4 p.m. at Bayfront Festival Park, and the pre-'works lineup includes Danny Frank, Syd & The Boys, Breanne Marie & The Front Porch Sinners, and the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. Then, blastoff.
The fireworks, free and open to the public, are scheduled to start at 10:10 p.m. There will be food, drink and craft vendors on site.
Fourth Fest starts at 4 p.m. July 4 at Bayfront Festival Park.
Get in the grass
Wisconsin-bred bluegrass band Horseshoes & Hand Grenades and local faves Feeding Leroy play a show that starts at 5:30 p.m. July 3 at Earth Rider Festival Field. Horseshoes & Hand Grenades is a fivesome that got its start while studying at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Expect strings, heavy twang and the deep desire to kick off your shoes. The band's most recent record, "Miles in Blue," was released in 2020 and opens with a dilemma: "I'm damned if I do, and broke if I don't." Tickets at earthrider.beer.
